Preparing for the Mass - July 19, 2009

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July19, 2009

Reading 1
Jer 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD . . . .

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
. . . . This is the name they give him:
"The LORD our justice."

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.


Reading II
Eph 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.
. . . . for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Gospel
Mk 6:30-34
". . . . (Jesus) saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.

First, For the children . . . .
Gospel Reflection
If you have ever had the frustrating experience of being interrupted while you were trying to tell about some wonderful adventure, you will understand how the apostles feel in this gospel story. They have just returned from their first missionary journey. They want to tell Jesus all about it. He leads them off to a quiet place where they can tell their stories. But the crowds follow them because they are hungry for Jesus' teaching and his healing touch.

Seeing the crowd, Jesus is moved to respond to them. They are like sheep that have been scattered. Out of love, the Good Shepherd calls them together and guides them. The apostles' adventure stories will have to wait.

Now for us BIG KIDS:
A peek at the Scripture in Depth by Reginald Fuller

Reading I: Jeremiah 23:1-6 The first reading is suggested by the observation in today’s gospel that Jesus had compassion on the multitude “because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” In ancient Israel, as in other cultures of the ancient Near East, the figures of king and shepherd were very closely associated. David the shepherd boy was taken from among the flock to be king over the united kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Although we should not sentimentalize the idea of shepherding (as talk of the “gentle Shepherd” might tempt us to do, although the Hebrew word for “shepherd” also means “to rule”), it is still true that the image of shepherd contains within it the notion of feeding and providing for the flock—in fact, much of what we associate with pastoral care. Read the full discourse here.

Responsorial Psalm: 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 The first two stanzas of this psalm, the most familiar in the psalter, picture YHWH as shepherd, while the third and fourth stanzas portray him as host at a banquet in the temple. Christian faith sees the same dual notion fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the one through whom God exercises his eschatological rule and shepherds his people. The second stanza suggests that it is particularly at the Eucharistic banquet that Christ exercises his shepherding function. Read the full discourse here.

Reading II: Ephesians 2:13-18 This passage is the theological core of the letter to the Ephesians. Looking back over the career of Paul, the Deutero-Pauline writer contemplates the results of the Apostle’s work. Jew and Gentile have been brought together into a single community, the body of Christ. Christ on the cross (that is, by his death as the event of salvation) has fulfilled and abolished the law, not as moral demand, but as the way of salvation. Christians now keep the law because they have been saved by grace, not in order to earn salvation. Now both Jew and Gentile have access in one body to the Father. “Access” is a liturgical term denoting the approach to God in worship. Note the Trinitarian character of the final sentence: through Christ in one Spirit to the Father. Note, too, that verse 13 alludes to Isaiah 57:19, while verse 17 cites and provides its Christian application. This indicates the sermonic quality of Ephesians.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34 This excerpt is highly composite. Verses 30-33 form a link between the mission of the disciples and the feeding of the multitude. They bear clear signs of Mark’s editorial work. Verse 30 points back to the mission of the Twelve (here only in Mark are the Twelve called “apostles,” a term that was not originally a title but functional). Verse 31, often used in connection with retreats, points forward to the feeding. Verse 32 introduces a favorite theme of Mark’s—teaching given in secrecy to the Twelve, though the fulfillment of this intention is delayed until chapter 8 (Caesarea Philippi). Verse 34 is the beginning of a new pericope, the feeding of the multitude (cf. the variant in 8:2). The reference to the shepherd motif is probably pre-Marcan and gives a special emphasis to the miraculous feeding. But the note about teaching looks redactional; Mark frequently emphasizes Jesus’ teaching activity without giving the content of his teaching.

Reginald H. Fuller Quoted in full unless noted, "Read the full discourse here."

Wise words from the Jesuit Ministry at Loyola Press:
"In today's Gospel, we hear the Twelve referred to as “apostles.” The word apostle is a Greek word meaning “one who is sent.” Jesus chose twelve men from among his disciples whom he sent to share in his ministry of preaching and healing. The first report of this is found in the third chapter of Mark's Gospel, where the Twelve are also called apostles and the names of this select group are listed.
We who are Jesus' disciples today have also been sent to share the Gospel with others. Perhaps our commitment to following Jesus as his disciple leaves us feeling tired and overwhelmed. In today's Gospel, we hear Jesus affirm the importance of times of rest and renewal. Jesus wanted his disciples to come away and spend time alone with him. This is what we seek and find in our life of prayer and in our celebration of the Eucharist."
This information has been gathered for my personal Catholic Notebook. Full sourcing is included


sources:
Center for Liturgy